The Day Before You
by GymClassVictim
Summary: So, Jasper and Alice met at a diner, right? Well, this is the story that follows them out of the diner. It's their journey to go find the Cullens and start their new lives together!
1. Chapter 1

"You've kept me waiting a long time." She said with a grin, like she knew who I was. I had no recollection of ever meeting her before, though, and I had no idea of what she was talking about.

"I'm sorry, ma'am." I apologized anyway, nodding my head politely. Her smile grew wider. Who was this little girl? She stood there so confidently, probably not even five feet tall. The aura that she gave off was so bright and pure; nothing that I had ever experienced before. She was so cheerful that I even began to feel happy, the best I had been in a long time.

She extended her hand out for me to take, not saying a word. Without hesitation, I grabbed it. I didn't know what I was doing, but I didn't care. This small girl had given me hope, something I hadn't felt in centuries. She must have been some kind of angel.

She led me out the door, whipping a compact umbrella out of her purse. Popping the thing open, she reached up to try and shield both her and myself from the rain, not able to get the umbrella over my head. I took it from her and held it over top of us as we walked.

"I'm Alice." She said, keeping a firm grasp on my other hand. She swerved back and forth around the puddles that were on the sidewalk, not wanting to get her shoes wet.

"It's nice to meet you, Alice." I told her, "My name is…"

"Jasper Whitlock." She cut me off, smiling up at me, "I know."

I shook my head in disbelief. "How did you…"

"Psychic." She cut me off again, tapping her head with her pointer finger, "I see the future."

"And I was in your future?" I asked. She nodded.

"What exactly did you see?" I wondered. Alice didn't answer, keeping her stare straight ahead. I decided to let it drop. We rounded a corner, and walked a little ways until Alice made a sudden stop in front of a motel.

"You want to get out of the rain?" she looked up at me. I could feel that she didn't like being out here in the wetness, so I nodded yes. I closed the umbrella before walking inside. The place was pretty nice. There was classical music playing, and I could smell the chlorine from a nearby pool.

"I'll get us a room." She told me, and then skipped over to the front desk. I followed right behind her, leaning against the counter. As I stood there waiting for Alice, I let my mind wander. I watched the receptionist behind the desk, envisioning my mouth at his neck. I hadn't fed in quite a while, and I knew that I was running a risk at being this close. I'd have to wait until it got darker out. Oh, but imagine the sweet taste! The warm liquid running down my throat! I was completely lost in my fantasy by the Alice finished up, so I jumped when she tapped my arm.

"Room 148." She said, grabbing my hand. We found the room, unlocked the door, and entered. There was one queen sized bed with the generic floral bedspread, and curtains that matched. Cheap paintings hung on the wall, and a small TV that set on a dresser. I sighed, closing the door.

"Hey, look!" she squealed, picking up a flier from the nightstand, "There's going to be a dance tonight!"

She held up the bright pink paper for me to see. "Wanna go?"

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea." I explained, "I'm kind of thirsty. I'm going to go out later."

I was suddenly hit with a wave of her disappointment.

"Oh." She frowned, then grabbed the remote control and flipped the TV. She jumped onto the bed, laying on her stomach and kicking her feet in the air as she clicked through the channels.

"Check the weather." I said as I took a seat beside her.

"Oh, it will be dry tomorrow. Perfect for travel." She smiled over at me.

"And you saw that with your… power?" I asked.

"Yup."

"Now, where exactly are we going?" I questioned. She sighed, pulling herself up into a sitting position. She crossed her thin legs into a pretzel and looked at me.

"I saw this coven of three males and two females, and I saw us joining them. So I found you, and now we're on our way to go find them up in California." She told me, "But they're a little different. See, they feed on animals instead of humans."

"Why?" I grimaced. I had had animal blood before, and it was less than enjoyable. She shrugged.

"It's a human preservation, save-the-species kind of thing." I watched Alice slide herself off of the bed, standing not even a foot away.

"You want to do something fun?" she asked.

"Umm," she didn't let me finish. She took my hands from my lap and pulled me onto my feet. Then she climbed up onto bed, taking me with her. She started jumping, not letting go of my hands. My arms waved up and down with the rest of her body, while I just stood there.

"Come one!" she encouraged. The rays of delight radiating off of her were irresistible, and I gave in. I felt my mouth crack into a grin for the first time in I don't know how long as we bounced simultaneously up and down. Alice's giggle was infectious, and I joined in the laughter. My mood was at an absolute high. We lost track of time while we jumped, until something in the bed frame cracked. We both stopped.

"Oops." She cringed at the sound. I got off of the bed and composed myself, looking out the window. It was dark enough now that I could go out.

"I should probably…" my voice trailed off, and I thumbed toward the door.

Alice nodded. "You'll come back, right?"

I already knew that I would. Where else would I go? I didn't exactly have a home. Plus, this Alice… there was just something about her. She was like a magnet, drawing me in. It intrigued me.

"Shouldn't you already know?" I teased, still feeling playful. I saw her smile just before I closed the door.

The rain had eased up into a light drizzle, but it was still enough to soak me as I wandered the street. Some cars passed me as I walked, and I saw the passengers staring back at me, the freak without an umbrella. I snickered to myself, and then stopped suddenly at the entrance of an alleyway, where I heard the delicious heartbeat of my chosen victim.

There was a man that was dumping something into the trash Dumpster down there. I stalked toward him in the shadows, not making one sound. Then the wind blew, and his scent smacked me straight in the face. I went into hyper drive, my mind lost to the thirst. The human had no chance. My hands were already snapping his neck before he could even blink. I pierced the flesh easily, and our poured the blood. I sucked at the throat vigorously; I couldn't pull away. I didn't want to. The blood's warmth felt good, almost comforting, not to mention the taste. It only got better and better. I was on cloud nine. It wasn't long before I drained the body completely, my thirst having been satisfied. I discarded the body and headed back to the motel. There was a little store that I passed on the way back that sold suits and dresses. It reminded me of Alice and the dance. I hated that I had disappointed her earlier, and the window display gave me an idea.

I walked into the store, shaking the rain from my hair. There was a little dark violet dress hanging from a rack that looked perfect for Alice, with frills and sparkles. I took it, then picked something out for myself. The place was completely empty apart from the woman at the checkout and I. I loitered around, trying to plan my escape, when the telephone rang. As soon as the woman turned her back to me, I flew full speed out the door. It wasn't far to the motel from here, but I kept up the pace to keep the clothes from getting wet. I slowed to human speed when I reached the safety of the motel's front canopy, strolling through the doors and down the hall to our room. I could hear music and chatter coming from somewhere in the distance, and I figured that that was the dance. I was about halfway to the room when the door swung open. Alice pranced toward me merrily, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. My body froze, tense at the sudden contact, but then loosened up when I felt Alice's mood. I put my free arm around her lightly, barely touching her.

"Thank you!" she squeaked. So much for the surprise. She took the dress from my hand and ran back to the room excitedly. By the time I had gotten in there, she already had it on. I watched Alice twirl in front of the mirror that was attached to the closet. Her perfect smile made her nose crinkle up, and her big eyes sparkled in the frame of a set of thick eyelashes.

"What do you think?" she asked, twirling around for me like my own personal ballerina.

"Beautiful." I said without a second thought. She smiled in delight. If only she knew that I wasn't talking about the dress, but about her. Her eyes lit up at my response, and I noticed the odd golden color that they were. This was the first time I had really looked at them, and they were nothing like the normal vampire red that I was accustomed to.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are your eyes like that?" I questioned. She looked confused before the light bulb clicked in her head.

"I figure it's because of my diet." She informed, "Your eyes are red because you feed on humans. Well, I feed on animals."

"You too?" I asked. She shrugged.

"If we're going to live with a coven like that, I figured that I'd start working on it early."

She had a point. I nodded, discontinuing the conversation, and headed to the bathroom to change. When I came out in my suit, I caught Alice dancing around the room. She gracefully twirled toward me causing the dress to lift as she spun, exposing her thigh. I couldn't help but notice; she had very nice legs.

"Let's go!" her voice was bubbly with excitement as she grabbed my hand. I intertwined our fingers as we strolled down the long corridor, locking her hand in mine. I could feel it- I was under her spell. There was an unfamiliar spring in my step as I walked, and I liked it.

We reached the ballroom, and the majority of the guests were married couples that ranged from middle-aged to the elderly. This didn't seem to affect Alice what-so-ever as she made her way to the dance floor. The mood of the place was relatively calm, so I thought it would be fun to liven them up a bit. I knew Alice would like it. Someone changed the music to a quicker tune as I sent out a wave of enthusiasm to all of the uneventful humans.

I heard Alice giggle as she dragged me out in the middle of the crowd, turning around to face me. The bright smile never left her face as she twisted and turned, spinning circles around me. We were definitely attracting attention. People were getting out of our way to let us have our own space, while others stopped dancing altogether to watch us. I tried to hold my own, but I felt like nothing compared to the elegance and beauty that was Alice. She was glowing.

The evening carried on until midnight. I could have easily stayed all night with Alice by my side, but they switched off the music and everyone left. It was probably for the better, considering that the humans were becoming hot with all the activity. Their sweating made their scent strong, and I could practically hear each individual heart racing with excitement. Alice seemed completely oblivious, like she didn't even notice. She just kept dancing.

We went back to the hotel room then. I changed out of my suit, but Alice kept her dress on. She said she liked it too much.

"So, did you enjoy yourself?" she asked me as I sat myself on the bed. I leaned my back on the headboard and folded my legs.

"Yes, I did. Thank you." I said as Alice tossed the TV remote to me. She looked confused.

"For what?"

"I don't know, really." I couldn't figure out how to put it into words. This little girl made it feel like she had erased everything of my sketchy past and gave me a future. I had hope, and I was looking forward to my new life with Alice. There was no way that I could express the amount of appreciation that I had toward her. She giggled.

"Well, you're welcome." She climbed onto the bed then and plopped herself into my lap like a child. I noticed that she wasn't really shy about that kind of stuff. I also noticed that I hadn't tensed up like I normally would have. This girl had softened me up. I couldn't exactly put my finger on what her emotion was, but it was comforting, almost warm and fuzzy. I reflected the feeling as I wrapped my arms around her. All of my guards had been let down, yet I felt completely safe with Alice here in my arms. I felt whole. It was like I had been a puzzle, and she was the missing piece that no one could find. Alice completed my picture.


	2. Chapter 2

She sat there with me the entire night, watching TV and discussing each other's lives. I told her that I was able to manipulate emotions, and I was pretty surprised that she didn't already know that.

"Really?" she asked, "Do it to me! Make me… sad."

I did what she said, and I watched her smile sink into a frown. It was weird not seeing her happy, so I immediately quit and she went back to normal. Well, normal for her.

The rain ceased around 8 in the morning, nit the clouds stayed, threatening to start up again. Alice was right- the sun was still hidden, perfect for travel. We checked out of the motel and walked down the street.

"Do you want to take the bus, or run?" she asked me, kicking a stone as she walked.

"The less humans, the better." I answered, watching the stone bounce across the sidewalk and plop into the gutter with a splash. Alice whined at the loss of her entertainment.

"Well," she said, continuing the conversation, "We could ride the bus down to the city limits. There are some woods a couple miles from there, where we could run then on. That would be the quickest way."

"That's fine." I agreed, following her around the corner and to the bus stop.

"The bus will be here in about 15 minutes." Alice mentioned as she sat down on the bench. I took a seat next to her and waited. I watched as she smiled at every single passerby; petting every dog and cooing at every baby. How strange. I sighed in relief as the bus screeched to a halt in front of us. Alice got on first, stopping at the driver. I stood on the step behind her, watching them talk in the rearview mirror.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't have any money." Alice said in a heartbreaking voice.

The driver grunted, "Then you've got to get off, miss. These people need to get places."

"Well, you see, my husband and I," Alice turned to me, placing her hand on my shoulder, "We have been very misfortunate. We lost all of our belongings on the plane yesterday and…"

I caught on immediately, sending a wave of sympathy to the man. His facial expression softened up, and he held up his hand to cut Alice short.

"That's awful! You go right on ahead and sit down. Don't worry about it." He smiled up at Alice from his seat, and she smiled back.

"Thank you, kind sir! God bless!" she quickly pecked his bald head, and bounced down the aisle to an empty seat. Then man blinked, stunned, then shook his head and turned back to the steering wheel, beaming.

"Thanks." I muttered as I walked past him. I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I made my way past them to Alice. She patted the place next to her, and I sat down.

"I would just like to say that that was genius." I told her as the bus started to move. She giggled.

The ride was pretty long. Alice rested her head on my shoulder, playing with my fingers, as I was stared down by a toddler hanging over her mother's shoulder in front of me. I stared back, not knowing what else to do. Her big brown eyes hardly ever blinked, and I was a little freaked out. She murmured something to me that was incomprehensible in baby talk, and I could feel Alice's body shake in silent laughter.

"You seem tense. What, don't you understand baby language?" She looked up at me teasingly. I snorted, rolling my eyes. The bus jerked to a stop, and the mother holding the child stood up to get off. The little girl raised her hand, waving me goodbye. I waved back, and sighed. We eventually reached our destination, and got off. As we walked, the buildings began to filter out into homes, and then nothing bit trees. I followed Alice off-road.

"Come on!" she called, then burst into a full-out sprint. I ran right beside her, winding in and out of the trees for miles. Alice seemed to know where she was going, as I trusted each turn that she took. It was a little while before she started to whine.

"I'm soooo bored." She drug out each word, slumping her shoulders but keeping up her pace. I didn't say anything. The sun had come out, and was shining through the thick canopy in specks. I watched the light reflect off of Alice's skin as she ran through them.

"Ooh, do you hear that?" her sprint picked up, and she grinned over at me. She stopped suddenly, and I skidded to a halt about a foot or two away. Her head twisted around quickly, scanning the forest.

"What is it?" I asked, curious. I didn't know what I was listening for.

"Water. Like a river or something." She said excitedly, and then sped off again. I raced after her, and as we ran the sound became louder and louder until we broke through the trees into an open field. There it was- a magnificent waterfall that plunged down into a pool-ish thing that narrowed down into the river that flowed past us. The sun glistened off the water, and I was mesmerized by the sparkling waves. My trance was broken when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice leap half-naked off a rock and dive into the water. She barely made a splash. What was wrong with this girl? I swear, she must have been the most spontaneous, out-there person I had met! I wandered to the water's edge, searching the water for her.

"Alice?" I half-whispered, but there was no answer. I looked around the area, noticing some clothes that were hung over a tree branch. I exhaled loudly, then turned back to the river's edge just in time to see a spray of water fly toward me and soak the whole front of my body. I growled in aggravation as I looked out at Alice who was wading out in the middle of the river, laughing hysterically

"What is wrong with you?" I called out to her as I pulled off my dripping clothes, stripping down to my boxers. She must have seen me coming, because I felt her mood suddenly flip to a mixture of excitement and fear just before I dove into the water I stayed under as I swam full speed for her feet that kicked back and forth, keeping her afloat. I grabbed her ankles and jerked her under the water, both of us sinking to the bottom. I wasn't trying to hurt her; we just rolled around on the clean, sandy bottom of the river, wrestling to push each other to the ground. Alice released a bubbly, underwater screech of delight as I finally eased up to let her win. She smashed me to the sand with one final shove, and then swam away to the waterfall. I watched as she went through and disappeared into the foamy wall where the water poured itself into the river, then I pushed myself off the bottom and floated up to the surface. I paddled myself over to the waterfall and through the roaring screen to the other side. Alice was floating there, staring at its brilliance, when I swam to her side.

"Look at it." She sighed, fascinated. "It's so amazing."

I tried to concentrate on the waterfall, but I couldn't do it for more than five seconds with Alice there next to me. She had combed her hair back out of her face with her fingers, and beads of water dripped off of her forehead, nose, and chin occasionally. I watched the way her collarbone stuck out a little farther when her arms went back while she waded there, and her shoulder bones stuck out when they went forward. I couldn't help but get closer to her, not being able to resist her natural magnetic pull. My breathing became slow and quiet as I came into vicinity, but I suddenly jumped when her hand brushed up against my chest. Her eyes flashed to me, noticing how close I was, and she smiled. My heart felt like it jolted back to life when she floated toward me, her eyes jumping up and down from my eyes to my lips. I almost forgot to keep myself above the water as she pressed her lips softly to mine, and I was suddenly flooded with a wave of emotions. I was surprised, not knowing how to act, and on top of that I had Alice's nervous excitement swelling inside of me all at once. She pulled away then, and I could see it in her eyes that she was giving me the option to continue or not. I had no idea of what to do, though, so I just waded there, speechless, looking at her. I had only met her yesterday- what was I doing? This should be happening, not so soon. Yet, she was like my own ray of sunlight. I had been lost under a hopeless grey cloud for centuries, and then all of a sudden she broke through and gave me a new life. There were no words for the way I felt about her as she stared at me through those beautiful topaz eyes. I smiled when I had made my decision.

"We should probably go. Don't want to keep that coven waiting, do we?" I winked, and then brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face.

"Come on."

I was relieved when I couldn't detect any signed of disappointment or regret coming from her while we swam back to our clothes. She sported a pleased grin, like she knew something that I didn't.

I tried not to look obvious watching Alice dance gracefully over to get her clothes in only her solid black panties and matching bra as I struggled to pull my pants on over my wet legs, sticking to the denim. We ran for a while, not saying anything, until we reached the edge of the trees. There were cars driving past a road just outside of the forest border, and a little gas station just on the other side. Alice looked up at the sky, her lips pursed and her eyebrows pulled together in thought. There were some clouds in the sky, but not enough to be safe going out in public. The sun could be exposed at any time.

"So," I said, looking over at her. She grunted, then looked over at me and started to giggle.

"Your hair… looks… ridiculous!" she managed in between spasms of laughter. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to make it look somewhat normal.

"I wouldn't be talking, miss." I retaliated, trying not to laugh myself. Her short, dark locks had been blown straight back from running, and that was how it had dried. Alice gasped, trying to fix her own hair. I just stood there, grinning with victory, as I waited for her to finish. When she was done messing around, she slapped her hands down on her thighs, sighed, and smiled up at me with her lips pressed together.

"So," I started up again, "What are we going to do about the light?"

"Oh, yeah!" she looked back up into the sky at the sun, "It looks like we'll be good to go in about an hour. It'll be dark by then."

"And you saw that with your power?" I felt like I had been asking that a lot lately, but I was curious.

"No, it's almost sundown." She stated matter-of-factly, motioning toward the sun with her hand. Wow, I felt stupid.

"What are we going to do until then?" I wondered. Alice crossed her legs and plopped down onto the grass.

"Wait." She told me. I sat down next to her.

"Tell me more about the coven." I said, starting up a conversation. She nodded.

"Okay. Well, it's made up of three males and two females, but I think I already told you that. They go by the last name Cullen. The leader's name is Carlisle, and has a mate called Esme. There's also one called Emmett, and he's with the other girl, Rosalie. Then the last one's name is Edward. They live up somewhere in Northern California, and that's where we're going to meet them."

"Do they know that we're coming?"

"No."

"What if they don't… accept us? They might not want us, since their coven is already a good size." I worried.

"They will." She assured me confidently, "You know, you need to learn to trust me more. It's very… I don't know."

I sighed, and nodded. "Fine."

"Good," she smiled, "Thanks."

We sat there, discussing the Cullens and our future with them for the rest of the hour until the sun finally set.


	3. Chapter 3

"We should make it there by morning," she informed me as we wandered the street, her hand in mine. I had started to get used to the feeling of her constant contact, but was also completely aware of her touch at the same time. I liked it.

The street alternated from dark to light as the streetlamps lit our path. The place was empty apart from the occasional car. I let my thoughts drift to my soon-to-be new family as my legs moved mechanically on their own. They fed off of animals. All of them. It wasn't natural, not how vampires were supposed to be. This irritated me a little. But Alice wanted me to try and adopt the new diet, to which I reluctantly agreed. It was the least I could so for her. She had done so much for me already, my personal little angel.

I looked down at her as we walked, her short hair bobbing with her step. I had been so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed that Alice was humming to herself. I listened to the tune, unrecognizable, in her sweet soprano voice. It was beautiful. She didn't notice me staring- off in her own little world once again. She was quite content, and I drowned myself in her comforting climate. It didn't even occur to me that I had no idea of our location. I just followed Alice blindly for hours through large towns and down country roads.

"A couple more miles." She told me, her bright eyes looking into mine with excitement. I nodded, my stomach balling up with nervous anxiety. I had been surrounded by danger and fear for pretty much my whole vampire career, but this was a whole different feeling. It was hard to believe it had only been three days ago that I had felt so empty, now that she was here filling the void and then some. I pushed the jitteriness away, trying to take Alice's confidence as my own and reminding myself that it was all going to be fine. Alice had reassured me more than several times before. I sighed, masking my vulnerability with false certainty like I had learned to do in the army. Keeping everyone around me clueless as to what was going on inside of me to keep them happy.

I felt Alice's grip on my hand squeeze tighter, and I snapped out of my daze to look up. There in the distance was a wonderful two-story house, obviously very expensive. The moment seemed surreal at first. Was this really happening? Yes. It definitely was. I let my mind go numb, no emotion strong enough to be prominent, and focused on Alice's vibes. Still so calm. We got closer to the house and still no hint of negativity. Her confidence was so convincing that I finally did believe her. After a while I couldn't tell if I was filled with her sureness or my own.

We marched up the steps of the porch to the front door, and Alice gave it a quick knock before stepping back to my side. I head the dead bolt click unlocked before the door opened. There was a blonde man there with a woman close behind. They both shared the same strange golden eyes as Alice. He took us in for a split-second before smiling.

"Hello."

"Hi, Carlisle. Esme." Alice chirped. They both became a mixture of confusion and fear. I decided to help calm them, watching their creased eyebrows relax.

"I'm sorry. Do we know you?" the man, Carlisle, asked. His eyes flashed back and forth to Alice and me. I decided to keep quiet, letting her do the talking. She knew what she was doing.

"Nope." She answered, "But I know you. If you let me in, I'd be willing to explain."

Carlisle stood there, uneasy. The woman, Esme, put a hand on his shoulder. He looked back at her, and they exchanged glances. He then turned back to us and nodded, opening the door wider for us to come in. Alice walked right on through, with me close on her heels. Esme led up to their family room, where an unbelievably gorgeous blonde female sat on the couch. She looked at us with curious eyes.

"Hi, Rosalie." Alice greeted her like they had been friends for centuries. She took a seat next to her, making herself comfortable. The blonde became tense, her mouth pulled into a straight line. She stood up and moved to the other side of the room, staring at Alice suspiciously. She didn't even blink. Carlisle and Esme sat down on the loveseat together. They were obviously mates.

"Who are you?" the blonde asked, her voice hinted at rudeness. What had Alice called her? Rosalie?

"I'm Alice, and this is Jasper." She answered as I took a seat on the cushion next to her. Esme spoke up.

"Why are you here, Alice?" she questioned, trying to sound polite.

"I can see the future. I saw that we would join your coven, so here we are." Alice placed her hands on her knees, smiling.

"Where can we stay?"

I was a little shocked at the way she said that. The words sounded a little rude, but her tone was perfectly innocent. I felt embarrassed, avoiding their gazes. But I could tell that Esme had been defeated by Alice's charm.

"We'd be more than happy to let you stay." She smiled back. Her mood was warm and caring, and I let me shoulders relax. The worst seemed to have passed. I was amazed at how quickly we had been accepted into the coven. So was Rosalie, but she didn't say anything. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and worry and she stared us down.

"Oh, thank you!" Alice jumped to her feet and flitted over to Esme, embracing her. Esme looked a little taken aback, but happily hugged her in return.

"We even have an extra room for you. It's used for storage, but we can clear it out to make space. Do you have any bags?" Esme said, looking over at me. I shook my head.

"No, ma'am. This is all we have." I answered, speaking for the first time. Esme made a noise in disapproval.

"We'll take care of that." Carlisle said, standing up. "Rosalie, how would you like to take our new friends shopping tomorrow?"

Rosalie's gaze flickered to my face, then Alice's, and back to Carlisle without a word. I opened my mouth.

"No, we really shouldn't. You don't have to…"

"I'll take them." Esme interrupted, taking the offer than Rosalie had silently refused. Alice smiled up at her, pleased.

"Here, let me show you to your room." Esme placed one hand on her shoulder, using the other to motion me to follow. She led us up a flight of stairs with an elegantly carved handrail and down a long hallway. Alice peeked into one room that we passed and stopped at the door.

"Ohh, what a beautiful view!" she gasped as she walked in. Esme and I went in after her. She was looking through a rather large window- almost the entire wall was glass. I examined the room. Shelves of records lined one wall, with a record player in the corner.

"May I have this room?" Alice spun around to face us, and my jaw almost fell open. She was pushing her luck a little too far.

"I'm not the one you should be asking, dear." Esme said, "This is Edward's room. You'll have to persuade him."

Alice nodded, and then her face went blank, her eyes staring off into far away nothingness. She was checking the future. After about a few seconds her eyes blinked back into the present, and her mouth curved up into a smile of satisfaction.

"Oh, I will." She giggled with victory. "Do you have any crates?"

"Sure. I'll go get them." Esme said, not putting up a fight. She ran out the door, and in a few short seconds was back with a stack of them piled in her arms.

"Help me Jasper." Alice ordered. I sighed, taking half of the crates. Esme left the room to let us go about our business. We filled each crate up with Edward's belongings, emptying the room. Alice balanced the tower of crates in her hands as she marched down the stairs.

"Where can we put this?" she asked Esme, who was standing around talking to Carlisle. He had a look of shock when he saw the crates and opened his mouth to say something, and then shut it. Probably figured best not to ask. Smart man.

"Umm, just set them in the garage." Esme answered, pointing to a door. "Right through there."

I followed Alice into the garage, and we stacked Edward's things in a corner. Carlisle waved me over to him when we went back inside. I walked up to him, stopping a few feet away.

"Yes, sir?" I tasted his climate, a thing I did that was almost a reflex. I used my ability a lot in Maria's army. Not just to keep the peace, but to determine if there was a threat. But all I could feel was calmness coming from the man as he stood there, half smiling.

"I noticed you have yourself a bit of an accent, son. Where are you from?" he asked, looking me over. His eyes found the pattern of scars that climbed out from under the collar of my shirt and climbed up my neck, and there was a hint of shock and worry that filled the air that appeared almost as quickly as it disappeared.

"Texas." I said. He nodded and mmhmmed, like I had answered another question that he had left unasked. A fit of giggles came from the kitchen, where Alice was talking to Esme and Rosalie. I smiled to myself, the sound of Alice's laughter distinct to my own ears. It was infectious.

"Well, looking at your feeding habits, I'm going to have to ask you to hunt outside of town if you plan on living here. We need to stay conspicuous. You understand." Carlisle's voice brought me back to reality. Oh yes, he noticed the eyes. I nodded in agreement, and then remembered my promise to Alice.

"Actually, I was going to try to adapt to your ways." I told him. His lips pulled up into a huge grin of approval.

"Great!" he praised, patting my shoulder. I became tense at his touch.

"You're making the right decision."

I nodded, and then in a split second I was spun around to face the garage door that had burst open.

"What the hell is this?" A male with messy, copper colored hair asked fiercely with an overflowing crate in his hand. That must have been Edward. He stopped suddenly when he saw me. Alice danced into the room then with a smile.

"Hey, Edward." She greeted him. His eyes squinted in confusion and he felt defensive; scared of the unknown. A jolt of worry shot through me for Alice's safety, and I send a wave of relaxation through the room. If he hurt her…

"I'm not going to attack." Edward said, rolling his eyes. His shoulders loosened up.

"Who's this?" another male asked from behind Edward. He was very large, very muscular, and very intimidating. I stood up.

"Jasper Whitlock." I reported, keeping an eye on the small girl that was getting dangerously close to them. I was ready to protect her, though I highly doubted that anything would happen now that I had control of the mood. This coven was very civilized, but I still worried about that big one. He reminded me of a bear. Edward glanced at me then looked at the floor, shaking his head and chuckled to himself.

"I'm Alice." The pixie introduced herself, making her way over to shake their hands. "The one who kicked you out of your room."

The large one laughed, "I'm Emmett."

"Oh, I know." She shook his hand. He opened his mouth to ask something, but Edward interrupted.

"The future, eh?" he asked, intrigued. How did he…?

"Mind reader." He answered, cutting my though short. So he could hear my thoughts? That was a little… unnerving. So much for keeping my thoughts to myself. I shifter my weight to my other foot awkwardly. It was uncomfortable to have someone else in my head.

"Um, Alice," Edward looked back to her, "Why did you kick me out of my room? There's a perfectly good room down the hall."

Alice stared at him, saying nothing.

"It is a nice view. But that was my room. I want it back." He said to her. She kept staring, talking through her thoughts.

"Your room is bigger, Edward. It would be polite if you moved to the other room, since you're only one person." Carlisle added, talking out loud so that everyone else could be in the conversation.

"I'll fight you for it." Alice chimed, a sly grin playing on her face. Panic jolted through my unbeating heart, and I found my voice.

"No." I half-whispered, standing completely still. Alice turned to me.

"No one will get hurt, Jasper. It'll just be a fun little wrestling match." She reassured, then turned back to Edward. There was just no stopping her.

"How about something a little less physical?" Edward suggested, talked to Alice but looking at me. He heard the extreme distress in my thoughts. I silently thanked him. Everyone stood around silently, thinking.

"No, no." Edward said, declining someone's idea. He shook his head every once in a while.

"That will never work… nah… mmm…"

"How about," I spoke up for the benefit of everyone else, "Emmett and I fight. I'm for Alice, Emmett's for you."

Alice and Edward glanced at eachother. Emmett broke into a grin.

"I'm up for that!" he was full of confidence and excitement as he walked over to me. We stood almost chest to chest, I just an inch or two taller.

"Fine." Edward agreed. I smirked.

_Bad choice my friend,_ I thought. _You don't know my past._

Edward ignored me, and we all went out the back door to their humongous yard. Emmett was already out there creating a show, bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet and punching at the air like a boxer.

"Be careful, you two." Esme called from the doorway. I walked out to where Emmett waited, standing a few yards away.

"Whoever gets their teeth at the other's neck first wins." I said quietly, but I knew he could hear. His head nodded, and he sunk into a crouch. I did the same.

"Go!" Alice squealed. Emmett bolted toward me. I could tell just by the way he carried himself that this was going to be east. He relied greatly on his strength. His lips pulled back in a snarl as he grew closer, then all of a sudden he leaped into the air. When he was at arm's length I grabbed his wrist and slammed him to the ground. He kicked his leg out, taking my feet out from under me. Then we were both rolling in the grass, missing each other's throats by inches multiple times. It was fun for a while, but I soon became bored with the amateur fighting. I squirmed in Emmett's grip, elbowed him in the gut, and escaped. He was getting off his knees when I spun around, delivering a back kick to his face. I was at his neck before he had time to recover from the blow; my teeth touching his flesh but not piercing it.

"Shit." I heard Emmett mutter before I pushed myself off of him. Alice squealed with delight, and I turned around to have her leap into my arms. She giggled like a child as I spun her around.

"Thank you." She said, kissing my cheek. Then she skipped over to Edward, told him better luck next time, and pranced into the house. I found myself laughing.

"Impressive, Jasper." Edward complimented as I walked toward him. He held out his hand and I shook it, unable to keep the smirk off of my face.

"Maybe you could tell me about your past sometime."

I nodded, and we turned to go inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**OMG, the finale! (Yes, that is what I just said) Hope you enjoy!**

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There was jazz music playing in the dressing room of the store. I toyed with the credit card that Carlisle had given me as I waited for Alice to model her next piece. He had insisted to spend as much as we needed, that there was no budget. Alice decided to take him up on that offer.

"Ready?" she asked, her eyes poking out of the cracked door.

I nodded. "Yeah."

She pranced out in a frilly pink summer dress and heels, spinning around once to let me see the back.

"Do you like it?" she asked, walking over to where I stood in the corner.

"Yes. It's very pretty." I answered. Of course, Alice looked good in everything.

"I really like this material. It smells nice." She added, grabbing the collar and pulling it to her nose. Then she offered it to me to sniff. I looked around, making sure no one was in sight, and then smelled the dress. All I could smell, though, was the scent of the last human to try it on. I swallowed the venom that had welled up in my mouth.

"Yup."

Alice giggled, and then skipped back into the dressing room. I sighed, resting my head against the wall and closing my eyes. I concentrated on the music that came from the speaker on the ceiling above my head, trying to drown out the humans' chattering around me. Then my nose crinkled at a smell that I had picked up, and I opened my eyes.

"Do you need help finding anything, sir?" an older woman with a name tag asked, smiling. Her scent was mixed with a lot of perfume, acting like a musky cloud that surrounded her. She looked me up and down, trying awkwardly to mask the obvious lust that she felt.

I grunted. "No thank you, ma'am. Just waiting for someone."

The woman's heart stuttered at my voice. She nodded, blushing. The delicious swirl of blood in those cheeks caught my attention, and my eyes became wide with sudden interest. I took a step toward her.

Alice's dressing room door suddenly burst open, and she was at my side. Her hand grabbed my elbow, pulling me away.

"Come on, Jasper. I'm done." Her voice was hard, worried. I stripped my attention from the old woman, following Alice's lead to the cashier. She piled the clothes up to pay for them on the counter, and the cashier's mouth almost fell open at the mountain that had been laid in front of her.

Everything was eventually scanned and bagged, and we were out the door. We had parked Carlisle's car along the sidewalk in front of the boutique. Alice and I threw everything in the back, and then took off down the road. We drove for a while until Alice's hand shot up shot up in front of her, pointing.

"Turn there." She ordered. I did what she said, and soon we were on a narrow road in the middle of a sea of trees.

"Now pull over." She said. I parked the car over in the grass, completely confused. I turned to her.

"What is going on?"

"Hunting." She answered, then hopped out of the car. I got out, too, then walked over to where she was.

"Come on." She looked up at me. Her eyes did seem darker. I had not noticed the change until now. We took off into the trees then, running for a couple miles before stopping.

"Ooh, do you smell that?" Alice asked, smiling. I sniffed at the breeze, but could not find anything particularly appetizing in the air. Then she was off, racing full speed into the wind. I followed, wondering what she could possibly have meant before hearing the heart of an animal beating quickly in the distance. We came upon a bear, wandering around absently. I stopped then, almost having a panic attack as Alice pounced on the thing.

The bear thrashed as she clung to its back, her mouth at its neck. She looked so small, so fragile. My stomach twisted in anxiety for her safety. It took a while, but the battle finally calmed down until the animal fell down to the ground, dead. Alice finished it, then got off of the body, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"What's with the face?" she asked, smiling. I did not know what she was talking about.

"Huh?"

She made a mocking grimace and I realized that I was making the same expression. She laughed, motioning toward the lifeless body.

"You get used to it."

I grumbled. "Yeah."

"Try it." Alice ordered, walking toward me. "It's not that bad."

"Fine." I said, sniffing the air. The wind picked up and rustled the leaves that hung above our head. I could hear a herd of deer running just a ways away, so I went for that. I zipped through the trees to where they were and spotted a large buck in the group. He didn't smell too yummy, but I tried to push that aside. The fur felt weird on my lips and I bit its throat. The blood hit my tongue and I immediately pulled away, disgusted.

"Ugh!" I complained to Alice who was a couple yards off, leaning against a tree with her arms crossed. She nodded encouragingly. I sighed and went back to the deer. The taste was hideous, but it seemed to help weaken the burning in my throat none the less. So I drained the body anyway.

"See?" Alice said as I made my way back to her. I shrugged.

"That was the single most disgusting thing I have ever drank in my life."

"Whatever!"

"Yeah."

"Carnivores taste better than the herbivores." She stated. I gasped playfully, but was a little annoyed at the same time.

"You couldn't have told me that sooner?" I asked.

Alice shrugged. "Sorry!"

I picked her up and slung her up over her shoulder. She squealed.

"Come on, I'm done for today." I said, then bolted through the trees and back to the car. I felt her small little fists pounding my back in protest as I held her, and I smiled.

My mind looked back at the last couple of days as I ran. All of a sudden, I was overcome with a wave of passion as I remembered our kiss under the waterfall. The split-second decision almost felt like a reflex as I brought Alice around to cradle her in my arms like a child. I saw in her eyes a look I thought I would never see from a fortune teller: surprise. My mouth met hers in an instant, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I kept the kiss tender, moving my lips softly on hers. I recognized the emotion that was radiating from her, as it was the same warm, fuzziness as the first night together, when we cuddled on the hotel bed. But it was mixed with a certain spice. There was a fiery passion that burned just underneath that grew with each passing second. My head became dizzy, and I pulled away before I had the chance to embarrass myself.

She gasped as I set her back down on the ground. My insides trembled in worry of what she was going to do or say next. I did not have the courage to mess with her emotions, either. I wanted to know the truth.

Very slowly (or at least that is what it felt like to me), Alice rose up on her tiptoes, lifting her hand up to grab my face and bringing me down to her level. She pressed her soft lips carefully to mine, then pulled away to look me in the eyes.

"About time, Mr. Whitlock." she grinned. I smiled back, then squeezed her to my chest in a tight hug. Her face was buried in my shirt, muffling her laughter. We ran back to the car hand in hand. When we got there, I opened the car door for her like the good southern gentleman that I had been raised to be.

"You have very long fingers." Alice commented as we drove. She sat in the passenger seat, playing with my right hand while I steered with my left. I took my eyes off the road to glance at her.

"No I don't! Your fingers are just short." I teased.

She grunted. "Pfft, whatever. Giant."

"Midget!" I recoiled, chuckling.

"Hey! Now I take offense to that." She nudged my shoulder, then crossed her arms over her chest, facing straight ahead. I smiled.

"I'm sorry, Alice. Will you ever forgive me?"

"Mmm."

I sighed. "Pleeease?"

"Maybe, if…" she stopped. I glanced at her, curious.

"If what?"

"Nothing. Never mind."

"Alice."

She turned toward me, a devilish smile creeping onto her face.

"I'll forgive you if you let me style your hair."

I didn't say anything. I just drove in silence for a while until Alice spoke up again.

"You're going to end up doing it." She concluded, "No need to put up a fight."

I groaned. "And this is all because I called you a name?"

She giggled. "Yup!"

I sighed. "Fine."

Little did I know that Alice had it all planned out. When we got back to the house, the place was empty. We found a little note on the kitchen table written on a piece of fancy paper that looked pretty expensive.

_Jasper and Alice,_

_Esme, Rosalie, and I have gone out to hunt. If you have come back to an empty house, then that means Edward and Emmett have not come back yet, either. They have gone out to run and enjoy the beautiful day. Help yourself to anything. We will be back soon._

_Carlisle_

Alice ripped the note from my hand.

"Amazing timing isn't it?" she asked, and giggled.

"Come on!" She rushed up the stairs in a flash. I stood there for a second, putting it all together. She must have known they would be out. I silently thanked her in my mind, grateful that she planned it so everyone would be gone. I could only imagine what kind of teasing I would have gone through if Emmett or Edward had been here to witness Alice styling my hair. We had only joined the coven yesterday; I didn't need them to think that I was a freak.

"Jasper!" Alice hollered from the bathroom that was attached to our bedroom. I ran up the stairs, not wanting to keep her waiting.

She drenched my head in the tub, scrubbed it, blow dried it, and sprayed it with stuff that smelled a little girly. All while humming to herself in that high-pitched, sing-songy voice.

"Okay, look." Alice brought me to the mirror that sat above the sink to show me the final product.

"Like it?"

"Of course." I smiled. I heard the door swing open downstairs, followed with Emmett's loud call.

"Hey, guys. Hope we're not interrupting anything!" he chuckled.

I could feel Alice's mental blush of embarrassment as she looked down at her feet.

"Let's go." She said, turning to walk out the door and greet Emmett and Edward. My gut twinged, and I grabbed her arm to spin her back to face me. Her eyes were big, looking into mine. I meshed my lips to hers, and she kissed me back.

"Thank you." I said.

She giggled. "It's just a hairdo, Jasper. Nothing special."

I shook my head, and then kissed her passionately once more. I nuzzled my face into her hair, and then placed my lips at her ear.

"Not for the hair, Alice. For _everything_."

At that, she wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me close to her in a tight hug. I was overwhelmed with a surge of great happiness, and I could feel as though the last missing piece of my life had been put into place. I was finally home.

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**Ahh, finally done! I do realize that this isn't the longest fanfic in the world, but that's ok. Good things come in small packages (like me!) At least that's what they say. Haha **

**I came up with like the best idea for another story yesterday. You have no idea! It's going to be intense! So look out for updates with my other stuff. I promise not to let you down, my lovely readers!! **

**Oh oh oh, one more thing before I forget- If you haven't figured it out, the title of this story (The Day Before You) is actually the name of a song by Rascal Flatts. I would highly suggest you listen to it, even if country makes you want to tear your hair out. It's practically Jasper's life story, which I think is cool beans!! :D**


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